


Imaginary

by Zariva



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Joker (2019)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Assault, Dark, Extended Scene, F/M, Home Invasion, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-30 03:55:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21421771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zariva/pseuds/Zariva
Summary: A very dark, non-canon extension of the last Arthur/Sophie scene.Chapter 1 is Sophie's pov, Chapter 2 is Arthur.Normally I'd rate this Mature (the sex isn't super explicit) but I chose to go higher because of the sensitive subject matter.Please heed the warnings: This is dark.
Relationships: Sophie Dumond & Arthur Fleck, Sophie Dumond/Arthur Fleck
Comments: 17
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

It was one of these nights… Gigi had been fuzzier than usual after Sophie had picked her up from daycare in the afternoon and by early evening the girl had been running a fever. They had hardly been through the door before the five year old threw up on the carpet. Now, three hours later, with both the floor and Gigi cleaned up, the latter fed with chicken soup and finally tucked into bed, Sophie was ready for a hot shower and maybe a spliff to put this day behind her.

Her little girl giggled as she got her good night kiss and Sophie shushed her. „Time for bed,“ she said and pulled the door closed, turning toward the living room to check on the front door. The lock was busted and with the vomiting and all, Sophie wasn’t exactly sure if she had remembered to put the chain in place... 

"Oh, my God," after the first shock of seeing someone sitting on her couch there was mostly confusion. "What are you doing in here?" 

What the fuck? "You’re in the wrong apartment." Sophie recognized the man sitting in the pale light of the static tv as the weird creep she’d seen around the building, sometimes meeting him in the elevator as they were living on the same floor. She knew he lived with his mother. And she knew they both weren’t quite right in the head. 

"Your name is Arthur, right?" she asked after she couldn’t stand his silence any longer. "You live down the hall?" She wasn’t sure if she was getting through to him. Maybe he was just confused and she didn’t want to upset him. 

"I really need you to leave," Sophie said, trying to stay calm, making her voice soft and pleading. "My little girl is sleeping in the other room." Since she’d only just tucked Gigi into bed she probably wasn’t asleep quite yet, but Arthur didn’t need to know that. When he still would react she added a whispered "...please."

Without looking up the man on the couch murmured something, so low Sophie couldn’t quite make it out. Something about a bad day, perhaps? Only then did she realize he was soaking wet and had probably just come from outside. It had been raining most of the night. 

"Can I call someone? Is your mother home?" There was a chance he was simply confused, wasn’t there? Sophie still felt an almost overwhelming unease at having this man she barely knew intrude into her living space, into her and Gigi’s home. But maybe, if she just stayed calm and got Arthur to leave, everything would be ok.

Arthur started to look up. His skin looked inhumanly pale in the white light of the flickering TV and his eyes were so sunken and deep in shadow that, for a moment, they looked like black, empty holes. Unease turned into fear and Sophie took an involuntary step back, fighting the urge to turn and run. She might be able to make it into the bathroom and lock the door… but that would leave her little girl alone in her room, unprotected. 

For now, though, all the man on her couch did was stare at her, dark hair dripping rain water, before he slowly raised his hand to his temple, two finger crocked, two fingers strait. A finger gun, pressed to his head. Like the day he had held the elevator for her. 

Something in his eyes made the fear inside Sophie turn into panic. As she saw him start to get up, she turned and tried to run, overwhelmed by the desperate wish to protect her child. But before she had taken even two steps she felt herself be pulled back by her hair and a cold hand clamped down over her mouth, just as she tried to scream. 

All that made it through was a muffled yelp.Arthur had moved with unbelievable speed and now had her trapped against him, one hand on her mouth. Sophie could smell cigaret smoke and felt cold droplets of water on the back of her neck, the hand on her face pulling her head up uncomfortably. "Shhh," the man cooed into her ear and then giggled, muffling the sound in her hair. Sophie could feel him move, heard the whispering of his clothing and then saw the gun his other hand was holding. A small revolver. 

There was a short struggle when she tried to pull his hand away from her face and he jerked her head up even more, almost making her bare feet leave the carped. Another scream tried to escape her, but was turned into nothing but a squeal by his unrelenting grip. He didn’t try to point the gun at her, just held in his hand as his arm pressed her against him.

"Mommy?" The girls high voice made both adults freeze in place. Sophie felt like her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest and the hand on her mouth was so tight she felt like she couldn’t breath. Pressed against her she could feel Arthur’s body shake - was he laughing? - his face buried in her hair and his breath hot in the nape of her neck. "Mommy, what’s going on?"

The gun was pressed into her a bit more firmly, the metal cold through the thin fabric of her robe. "Tell her…" Arthur’s voice was soft and strangely high, and despite being very close to her ear, Sophie almost didn’t hear him over her own panicked breathing. "Tell her everything is ok. And to stay in her room." 

It took all of Sophie’s willpower but she slowly put down her arms to show that she understood. In answer the hand on her mouth eased and then moved to her throat, while the other stayed where it was, pressing her against Arthur’s boney form. 

"N-nothing," Sophie pressed out, her voice unnaturally shrill in her ears. "Everything is fine. Go to sleep." She tried to put as much command into her voice as she could manage, her mind racing with fear of what this crazy bastard might do to her daughter if she came out of that room. 

For a moment both stood still, listening. When no more sounds came form the bedroom on the left, Sophie felt the arm around her middle, and with it the gun, finally releasing her. Then Arthur griped her by the back of the neck and started pushing her toward the other side of the corridor. He pushed open the first door on the right and when that turned out to be the bath room, he continued to force her down the corridor to the second.

Sophie stumbled and almost lost her footing as she was shoved into her tiny bedroom. Tears had started to blur her vision and she frantically sucked in one ragged breath after the next, trying not to sob out loud, clutching her robe shut. She felt unbelievably vulnerable and helpless, scared for her life, Gigi’s life, like she’d never been before. 

Behind her Arthur had softly shut the door and seemed to be looking around for something to block it. He reached for her hamper wedging it under the door nob. The hamper was light, made of cheap, flimsy basketwork and would never even slow down an adult trying to get through the door. But perhaps a five year old. And her, too, should she get a chance to try and run. Most of all, thought, the flimsy piece of furniture seemed to have calmed Arthur down. 

He made a tortured sound, the hand with the gun hanging loosely at his side, almost as if he had forgotten it was there. Sophie certainly hadn’t. While he still seemed like he was fighting for control over something she didn’t quite understand, Sophie backed further away from him, only to be stoped by her vanity pressing into her back. Besides her closet, her bed and a night stand it was the only furniture she had managed to squeeze into the tiny room.

"Please…" She wasn’t sure why she said it. Arther had always been a little creepy, but she had never felt afraid of him before. Just one more used-up Gothamite. Maybe he was just confused and if she managed to talk him down he would let her go? Let them go? Or maybe, if she said the wrong thing, he’d shoot her in a fit of rage and leave Gigi alone in the world. 

What he might do if a gun shot brought her daughter running, she didn’t have the strength to think about. 

"Please, just don’t hurt us." Her pleading shook Arthur out of his inner struggle. He looked at her with a startled expression, his face barely visible in the dark room, illuminated only by the feeble street light outside her bedroom window. 

"No," he said, almost whimpered, and took a step toward her, his empty hand raised. As if he was approaching a cornered animal, or an upset child. "I wouldn’t… I don’t want to hurt you. I just," he paused, hesitating. "I didn’t mean to scare you. Shhh." He came toward her and Sophie had nowhere to back off to. 

Behind her, her hand closed around a bottle of cheap perfume. Shifting her body slightly to better hide the bottle from his view, she forced herself to wait, expecting he’d try and grab her again soon, which would bring him into better reach, would make a blow with the small, hard bottle more effective. Only he didn’t.

"I mean…" he said instead, having barely taken a step toward her, "I just… had a bad day. And I wanted to see you, to-" That was as far as he got before Sophie lost her nerve and tried to rush him. She threw the bottle at him wildly, missing this head as he dodged. It hit his shoulder instead and uselessly bounced on the carpet. 

Before she even had a chance to pull the hamper out of the way, his body blocked her from the door. There really wasn’t much room and as he pressed her back away from the exit her legs hit her bed, the room fluid around her for a moment as they both came crashing down. The cheap furniture creaked in protest. 

Somewhere in the back of Sophie’s mind she registered that Arther was making shushing noises again, trying to get his hand over her mouth. But she wasn’t going to scream, wasn’t going to risk Gigi waking up and coming out of her room. And nobody else in this building would care enough to do anything, even if they heard her. 

Instead she desperately tried to push the unfamiliar man off of her, even tried to scratch at his pale face. But his form covered her smaller body easily, pressing her into the saggy mattress, his hand pressing against her mouth and nose so hard it hurt. 

There was a metallic click, impossibly loud despite their struggle, next to Sophie’s ear and she froze as she felt the cold barrel of the gun press into her neck. Wide eyed she stared up at the pale face hovering above her, dark eyes staring back at her and for a moment there was no movement between the two besides her panicked breathing. Then Arthur’s head dropped, his forehead touching hers in an almost tender gesture as he made a shushing sound.

"I don’t… I don’t want to hurt you," he said softly, his words eerily disrupted by something that sounded like, a hiccup? Or a giggle? "I just… needed to be w-with you." The hand on Sophie’s face angled her head slightly to the side as Arthur began to nuzzle on her neck, wet hair brushing against her skin. 

For a moment all she could think about was the gun still at her throat, but then she felt something that scared her even more: between their bodies something hard was pressing against her thigh. Despite herself Sophie’s hands started to push against the man on top of her, pulling on his hoody trying to get him off, trying to get him to stop. Instead her struggles seemed to excite him even more and he groaned against her neck, pressing his disgusting hard-on against her. 

Then his knee was between her legs and forced them apart, his body coming to rest between her thighs. She had started to cry in earnest, tears slick against the man’s fingers, but didn’t realize it until a wretched sob shook her body. A whine was muffled by the hand still cruelly clamped down on her face. The other was roughly pushing her robe open and started to clumsily pull at her panties.

The gun was out of his hand now, of course, but she didn’t know where it was and she couldn’t seem to bring her hands to move and look for it anyway, her whole body caught in the overwhelming urge to push against the man on top of her. 

Caught up in her struggles Sophie didn’t hear him pull his sipper down or feel him pulling himself free of his pants. But she did feel his hand pushing her panties to the side, his cock being positioned against her core and then agony as he pushed home in one fierce thrust. Her whole body seemed to scream in protest. Sophie might have screamed, too, but she wasn’t sure. While she was frozen in pain and horror Arther didn’t waste any time, though. He started to rut into her in earnest. 

At first the pain was piercing, almost too much to bare, as his cock was forced into her dry, unwilling flesh. Then, after two or three forceful thrusts it seemed to get easier, slicker. Sophie didn’t know if it was her body responding - she certainly didn’t feel any pleasure - or if she had started to bleed.

His hand over her mouth was suddenly gone, but she didn’t scream. What would it have mattered now? At least for now she had the hope left that, once this was over, he would not kill her. That he would just leave and that at least Gigi would be safe. Gigi was what Sophie tied to focus on while Arthur was moving in and out of her so forcefully it made the bed shake and creak underneath her. After a few more thrusts - it felt like an eternity to Sophie - she felt him shudder, heard him groan and then the warm feeling of him emptying himself into her. It almost made her sick, but her body didn’t seem to want to respond anymore. 

Arthur lay still for a moment, his body heavy and his ragged breathing loud in her ear, before he pulled out, sending a fresh wave of stabbing pain though her. He rolled off the bed, pushed the hamper out of the way, fled through the door and then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Next chapter - same scene, but from Arthur's point of view.  
\---
> 
> Two things: 
> 
> Firstly, I expected to get flamed for writing about actually rape. Instead I get 10+ Kudus is under 12 hours? Hmm.
> 
> Secondly, I just realized I screwed up and wrote "Sophia" instead of "Sophie" for some reason. I'll fix it, hopefully later today after work.
> 
> Edit: Fixed. Still got no idea why I thought her name was 'Sophia' ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same scene as before, Arthur's point of view.
> 
> Please beware the trigger warnings.

After reading the truth about his mother’s lies in the file he had wrestled from the Arkham clerk, Arthur stood cowering in the grimy hospital stairway for a long time. He’d always had a vivid imagination... Today that imagination had painted a cruel picture for him: his mother’s therapy sessions. Vivid, as if he had been witnessing her near catatonic state standing in a corner. 

By the time he managed to pull himself out of his misery enough to leave, it was dark outside. And by the time he made it from the subway station back to his run down building, it was also pouring. He didn’t bother to raise the hood of his jacket, though. What did it matter? 

Arthur could hear the elevator shudder and moan on its way down. As he stepped inside a memory came to his mind: Sophie, standing in the corner, her hand to her head, two fingers straight, two fingers crocked. A hand gun. Playfully blowing her brains out.

He had fantasized about knocking on her door before. Had so often imagined her at his side. Sharing laughs and giving him strength and support. And as the elevator doors slid open he turned toward apartment 8B instead of his. Just to imagine having her to talk to perhaps.

Arthur couldn’t knock, of course… what would he say? None of what he had imagined was real. She wouldn’t know him, probably didn’t even know his name. He knew hers, though. Remembered the time he had followed her to work at Gotham Savings, right off of William Street. 

But something made him turn the nob of the door… too many locks in this run-down building were busted, didn’t snap into place right. Most doors were held shut by the lock and chain higher up. Sophie’s door swung open with a soft click. 

Slowly, Arthur stepped inside. The small apartment was quiet. As he passed his hand slid along the coat rack. Sophie’s jacked, Gigi’s yellow jumper, her backpack. All needly hung on the hooks. 

In the living room the TV was on, but all it showed was static. 

The space was cluttered, lived in. A toy guitar on the couch. Childish drawings on the wall. A pussle on the coffee table. Arthur ran his hand over all of it. Finally, the real thing. The chance to touch, to connect. 

Everything was quiet. He could hear the rain against the windows as he sat down on the couch. Then a giggle and a whisper. "Shh. Time for bed" Sophie’s voice, soft, coming from the corridor behind him. A door closing.

Then he heard Sophia gasp. "Oh, my God." The words seemed to come rushing out of her. "What are you doing in here?"

Arthur didn’t react. What was there to say? All his fondest memories of this woman were lies… His mother had lied to him his entire life. No wonder he had become so adapted at lying to himself. 

"You’re in the wrong apartment." So she knew who he was, at least. But what did that really matter? "Your name is Arther, right? You live down the hall?" Arthur gave the finest nod, almost automatically. Sophie’s voice was almost shaking.

"I really need you to leave…" Now she sounded pleading. "My girl is asleep in the other room." Something in her soft voice found its way through his pain and touched him. "Please"

"I had a bad day" he whispered, so softly he might have been talking to himself. Just like he had so often when he had imagined her around. Had pretended. Had lied to himself about it. Then he took a deep breath to steel himself against her reaction.

"Can I call someone? Is your mother home?" So that’s what she saw him as: A lost little boy who needed to be fetched by his mother. 

Slowly he raised his head and turned to look at her. She looked scared. Here he was, just looking for some friendliness… and she looked at him as if he was one of the monster rats, come scurrying into her home. Even took a step back as his eyes met hers.

Arthur raised his hand to his temple, two ringers crocked, two fingers strait. But he didn’t smile this time. And neither did she. Her hand covered her mouth and she kept backing away, slowly. 

He started to get up, was actually ready to leave. Storm out of here, where he wasn’t wanted. Back to his own, empty space. But just as he rose he saw Sophie turn as if to run and anger and fear griped him both at the same time.

Without thinking he rushed after her, his reaching hand tangling in her curly hair. He grimaced as he clammed his hand over her mouth - he hadn’t meant to hurt her, had pulled her hair mostly by accident. But as her muffled yelp told her, he had only just gotten a hold of her in time. 

At first all he wanted was to keep her quiet. He wasn’t here to hurt her. He’d just let this go on a a step too far, couldn’t let her raise a ruckus now. He might get in real trouble. On this horrible day, the worst in a row of many horrible days. A day that had seen his world come crushing down. 

Arthur pulled Sophie against him, not by her hair, with his other hand.Before ehe realized it the gun was in his hand. The gun that had changed his life. Had cost him is job. Had ended those sleek, drunken fuckers on the subway.

"Shhh" Arthur tried to calm her, but Sophia kept struggling against him with vigor. Perhaps she had seen the gun. And then there was a soft voice that made them both freeze.

"Mommy?" Gigi’s curious and slightly groggy voice came from the door right next to them. "Mommy, what’s going on?" Sophie’s sudden stillness made Arther all the more aware about her body pressed against his. He had to fight down a laughing fit and pressed his face into her hair to muffle the sound. Here hair smelled absolutely wonderful.

"Tell her…" Frustration and fear mixed in him. It was hard for Arthur to get the words out without starting to laugh. "Tell her everything is ok. And to stay in her room." The hand with the gun pressed her against him, but as she stoped fighting he slowly let go of her mouth. 

"N-nothing," Sophie pressed out. Arthur could feel the soft skin of her throat move under his hand. "Everything is fine. Go to sleep." Her puls was beating like a fluttering bird as they shoot still and listened. Arthur barely dared to breathe. 

They couldn’t stay here. Not so close to the child’s door. The thought of Gigi coming out of her room and seeing them like this scared him. The thought of another child seeing him with a gun sacred him. He might be able to explain to Sophie, once she calmed down. But how do you explain such things to a kid? 

That was why, when no more sounds came from the room, he took hold of Sophie and pushed her forward. He just needed a quiet, save place to talk. To calm himself down, to calm her down and to find a way out of this fucking mess. 

The first door he tried led to a bathroom and, frustration mounting, Arthur pressed on to the next. In the back of his mind he realized this apartment was slightly bigger than the one he shared with his mother. Two bedrooms. At home Arthur had to sleep on the couch in the living room.

The bed room the second door led to was tiny and dark. He pushed Sophie inside and found that there was no lock. But there was a basket of some kind, a hamper, and he wedged that under the nob. Convinced himself that it would be enough. 

Arthur’s heart was beating incredibly fast. It felt like fire was racing through his vines, making his hands and limbs tingle. Hot and cold at the same time. Hunched over and biting his knuckles he tried desperately not to laugh. 

"Please…" her voice was a pleading whisper. So soft. So sweet. So scared. It brought Arther back to himself somehow. Turning back to Sophie he saw her cower on the opposite side of the small room. Her form was beautifully back light by the window behind her. That also meant he couldn’t see her face in the darkness. 

"Please, just don’t hurt us." She sounded so vulnerable, so touching. 

"No," he said, his voice having to fight to make it through his tight throat. Arthur wasn’t an idiot. He knew he had entered her home uninvited. He knew he had messed up and had perhaps gotten himself into serious trouble. Again. He knew he had to fix this before it got worse. 

"I wouldn’t… I don’t want to hurt you. I just," he hesitated, looking for the right words. "I didn’t mean to scare you. Shhh." He took a carful step toward her. But Sophie looked panicked. Looked like she was trying to melt into the furniture behind her, so he stoped. 

"I mean…" Arthur kept his voice low. To avoid drawing Gigi’s attention again. And to avoid to scare Sophie even more. "I just… had a bad day. And I wanted to see you, to-"

Suddenly she flew at him. Threw something that he dodged on pure instinct and that hit his shoulder. The pain dull and sharp at the same time. He managed to grab her again, tried to push her away from the door. Then her body seemed to just give and now he was lying on top of her. His body pressed hers into the soft mattress. They had landed on her bed and it cracked in protest at the impact. 

Afraid Sophie might try to scream, Arthur tried to shush her. Both with words and with his hand, which he soon had clammed tightly over her mouth again. He felt her push at him, pulling on his jacket. Even trying to scratch at his face.

The gun in his hand felt warm and heavy. As he crocked the hammer with an audible click he was again filled with a feeling of power - just like the day he had run down that slimy broker guy. Had him pined down on the grimy subway stairs and had emptied all the remaining rounds into him. 

He wasn’t going to do that to Sophie, of course. But that damn laughter was threatening to fight its way back up, clawing at his throat… and as he clicked the gun and pressed it into her neck that stoped. Just as she froze underneath him, the urge to laugh became bearable. Suppressible. 

And with the power came something else: While her heavy breathing pressed her breasts against his chest her scent filled in his nose. Her legs moved underneath him. He could feel himself starting to get exited in a new way… He’d imagined them together before, of course. But that had all been sloppy kisses, tender giggles and kind words. This was different. 

And it made his heart race, his breath hitch. Made him feel hot and needing. 

Careful not to hurt her, Arthur turned her face to the side, so he could nuzzle her neck. Soften the sting of the gun. He was breathing into her hair and felt himself getting fully hard. The delicious friction of his member against her thigh was all he could think about. 

No, not all. More. He wanted more. And he groaned against her neck, rubbing himself against her. It was easy to push her knees out of the way, a rush racing through him as he slid between her legs. Sophie made a delicious, high pitched sound and it almost drove him crazy with the urge to feel her warmth around him. 

Arthur put the gun down higher on the bed and pulled her robe open. Her skin was soft as velvet underneath his palm. Driven by a desperation he never knew he was capable of he tried to pull her panties down. But the stubborn material wouldn’t give. Out of patience he started to work on his own clothing instead, freeing his cock from the confines of his pants. 

It was hot and weeping and gripping it was almost too much. But he wanted more. Too frantic to bother with trying to pull her panties down now… he simply pushed the fabric out of the way before he guided himself into her.

It didn’t feel quite as he had imagined. It was warm, yes. And tight. But there was also a pulling sensation, so intense it was almost painful. And it had taken a lot more force to enter her than he had expected. Luckily, after he had moved back and forth a few times it got easier. Slicker. And now he understood what the fuss was about. It felt amazing. 

Arthur was gripping her hips with one hand and needed the other to steady himself: He didn’t want to crush her. But luckily Sophie barely made a sound as he slipped his fingers from her mouth. He buried his face in her neck, sucking in her scent.

The longer he pulled back and pushed in, the slicker their bodies moved against each other. It didn’t take long at all until a hot, tense sensation pooled in his stomach. His balls tightened and his cock twitched before he spend himself inside her. 

For a blissful moment all Arthur felt was his after glow. Cradled in her warmth, panting heavily against her neck, into her hair. But before long the embarrassment came back, and he was overwhelmed by it. Almost as forcefully has he had been overwhelmed by lust a moment earlier. 

What had he done? And to Sophie? So many people who had hurt and humiliated and laughed at him… but she had never done anything to him. Had talked to him friendly and had smiled at him. 

Quickly, he pulled himself out of her and off the bed, frantically trying to right his clothes. He pushed the hamper aside and tore through the door, trough the small apartment and out into the corridor, fleeing back to his own apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is some backstory for those who might be interested:
> 
> I re-wrote this chapter three times.
> 
> The first time, because it wasn’t really a chapter to begin with. My earliest draft flicked back and forth in perspective, from Sophie to Arthur and back. 
> 
> Then I realized I don’t particularly enjoy reading stories that do that every other paragraph, ergo I split the whole thing into two. Expect that I only had a few paragraphs for Arthur, so trying to flesh this out enough to make sense took some time.
> 
> And then I rewatched the movie and rewrote the thing _again_. Before Arthur, in this chapter, was kind of lost and needy, looking for comfort and closeness and then getting carried away. After I rewatched the movie, though, I saw a lot more frustration and hate there - I mean, right after this scene, canonically, he goes on to have a laughing break down and the next day he kills his mother. It’s pretty much the point where Arthur turns from a passive doormat into someone more aggressive. In the movie it’s mostly the matricide that seems to push him over the edge. 
> 
> In my version he just let his frustration out on Sophie first.


End file.
